Tania D. Mitchell (assistant professor in the Department of Postsecondary Teaching and Learning) and colleagues Tim Eatman (Syracuse University) and Corey Dolgon (Stonehill College) received a contract from Cambridge University Press to edit the Cambridge Handbook of Service Learning and Community Engagement. The handbook seeks to fill an unmet need, providing a comprehensive resource that reflects the historical trajectory of the community engagement field, offering theoretical and practical grounding for best practices, and addressing critical contemporary issues currently shaping the work. The text is slated to be published in 2016.
How TERI better prepares teachers
Interim TERI director, Stacy Ernst, recently contributed to the VISION 2020 blog. Continue reading to learn more about how TERI is re-envisioning the future of teacher education.
C&I M.Ed. Students share their favorite experiences from class
Have you ever wondered what you might learn in an M.Ed. course or what your classroom experiences might be like? During the course “Reflecting on Professional Development in Social Studies Education” (CI 5744), three Curriculum and Instruction students, Robert Lewis, Alex Hertogs, and Mary Dierkes, were gracious enough to highlight some of their favorite moments for us.
“On February 27, Dr. Todd Beach convened a panel for our class to discuss the topic of understanding social class differences in the classroom. In the front of the room, the speakers included two representatives from Eastview High School: Julian Hines, student services facilitator; and Kim Martinson, assistant principal for ninth grade and special education. Also speaking was the Honorable Alan Page, an associate justice of the Minnesota Supreme Court and a member of both the College Football Hall of Fame and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
“A major theme in this discussion centered on acknowledging how some students, particularly students of color, have a markedly different experience within the school system than others. The panel responded by advising teachers to be conscious of how perception can play a role in this problem. A particularly powerful moment in the discussion was a contribution by Justice Page, where he highlighted the ‘weight of responsibility that rests on our shoulders as educators [of the next generation].’ Page described how planners use test scores for a generation of students as young as middle school as an indicator for how many prisons need to be built. This discussion was an important one to have and a topic that needs to continue to be discussed among educators.”
– Robert Lewis, M.Ed. social studies teacher candidate
“On April 3, two mock interviews took place. Two students from the class were interviewed by administrators from Eastview High School for 30 minutes while the remainder of the class watched and took notes in preparation of a discussion, which immediately followed each interview. Many of my colleagues stated that they thought it was the most beneficial class session they had attended thus far. They felt as though they had gained valuable insight into the minds of administrators and hiring managers, which in turn had given them the confidence to prepare for their own future interviews. As one of the interviewees, I found the exercise very helpful. Not only was the atmosphere set in such a way as to create a comfortable environment, but the interviewers were excellent, and the feedback that I received was invaluable…so invaluable, in fact, that it fully prepared me for the Minnesota Job Fair the following week, in which I was offered a position after a 15-minute interview.”
– Alex Hertogs, M.Ed. social studies teacher candidate
“Dr. Todd Beach brought together a panel of former and current educators from around the Twin Cities to discuss grading and assessment in secondary social studies classrooms. Breaking into smaller groups, the panelists and graduate students were given the chance to talk through different classroom scenarios, share ideas, and talk about the difficulties teachers face when contemplating assessments of students’ work and effort.
“Grading is one of the aspects of teaching that is often overlooked and is something that the field of education might assume that people just ‘know how to do.’ However, in practice, there are many factors that can affect the way in which grading can play out in the classroom and with students and parents. In smaller groups, the veteran teachers gave students insight into how they calculated grades as well as how they approached some of the more tough scenarios, such as students who do not exhibit any effort yet seem to score well, and conversely, students who put in a great deal of effort yet cannot achieve passing scores. This was very useful to the teacher candidates, for it is practical to their everyday lives and allows a space to answer questions that often get overlooked or go unconsidered.”
– Mary Dierkes, M.Ed. social studies teacher candidate
To learn more about our M.Ed. initial licensure programs, including the social studies education M.Ed., please visit our program pages.
Bush Foundation releases midterm reports
The Bush Foundation has released their midterm reports for public perusal. Click through to learn about all of the great work and lessons learned within the NExT institutions of higher education – the 14 selected by Bush to redesign teacher education. The Bush Foundation grant supports ten-year long projects such as ours at the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities.
overview | full report | executive summary
Learning Technologies M.Ed. Graduates present work at Student Showcase
The LT Media Lab hosted the annual Learning Technologies M.Ed. Student Showcase event on Friday evening, May 9. This was a fantastic opportunity to celebrate a very successful academic year and for many of our graduates to present the final capstone project they accomplished to complete their M.Ed. in Learning Technologies. These practical projects reflect students’ professional goals and require real-world application of the LT knowledge they gain in our program. Projects are often accomplished within students’ current work contexts, which are richly diverse and varied.
Some examples of the capstone projects showcased this year include:
- international implementation of mobile devices to provide ICT access to residents in rural areas of the Dominican Republic,
- the creation of a professional development curriculum to prepare teachers for a 1:1 initiatives in K-12 settings,
- designing a framework for an online program in theological studies for adult learners,
- the design and development of a mobile application to support childhood literacy,
- the development of an initiative to encourage kids to explore and learn about the natural environment using technology devices,
- and the creation and publication of an eBook for instructional designers to guide aesthetic and pedagogically-grounded academic slide design.
Sincere congratulations to all of the Fall 2013 and Spring 2014 graduates who have earned an M.Ed. in Learning Technologies:
CJ Sorensen
Marit Oberle
Jean Watson
Joan Freese
Kacie Kline
Lana Peterson
Ann Fandrey
Natt Friday
Heather Dorr
Sandy Ludwig
Kristin Lundstrum
Earl J. Heinrich
Carla Bates
Alfonso Sintjago
Jim Trebisovsky
If you would like to know more about the Master of Education – Professional Studies in Learning Technologies, please visit the LT M.Ed. program page. For more updates from the Learning Technologies Media Lab, please visit the LTML website.
Education Minnesota UMN-Twin Cities student chapter surprises Roosevelt teachers and staff with a break room makeover
The EdMN UMN-TC student chapter received a $1,000 grant from the National Education Association and used the funds to support a makeover of the teachers’ lounge at Roosevelt High School. In honor of Teacher Apprecation Week, the dedicated crew cleaned, painted, and installed new furniture on Saturday, May 10. The Teacher Education Redesign Initiative (TERI) sponsored bagels and coffee for the teachers yesterday morning to welcome them into their new space, and to show appreciation for all that they do.
Check out the before and after photos below!
Ph.D. student Chidthachack featured for Twin Cities World Refugee Day
C&I Ph.D. student Sousada Chidthachack (STEM Education Program Area) has recently been featured in the Asian American Press as part of Twin Cities World Refugee Day, Minnpost, and profiled by Wallin Education Partners for her unique personal story. Born in a refugee camp in Thailand, Chidthachack emigrated to Minnesota with her family in 1986. Tremendously self-motivated, Chidthachack hopes to make mathematics more accessible to students of color.
“When I was younger, I wanted to be talk show host like my idol Oprah Winfrey so I could entertain, uplift and inform,” shares Chidthachack. “As a leader in education, and with the help of the media, I get to be the ‘host’ of my own show and share my messages about education as the great equalizer; that with a good attitude and a good education, students can be anything they set their minds to. One of my goals as a Ph.D. student is to work with underrepresented populations and be a voice for those who are silenced.”
Chidthachack is particularly moved by a quote from Winfrey, “Excellence is the best deterrent for racism or sexism.” It is obvious that Chidthachack lives by these words. In addition to accepting a faculty position at the University of St. Thomas starting this fall, Chidthachack has also been writing and will soon publish a memoir, “The Lesson is Never Just a Number: A Mathematics Teacher’s Journey From the Projects to Pursuing a Ph.D.”
Please find Chidthachack’s Minnpost article here, her Wallin Education Partners article here and her Asian American Press profile here. You can also read her CEHD profile here.
Faculty and students participate in lively Pro-Seminar event on philosophical status of Data
Last Wednesday, C&I held its final Pro-Seminar of the year, “What is/are Data?” The purpose of this event was to provide graduate students with the opportunity to learn about how senior scholars think about and take up basic assumptions and orientations in their research.
C&I Professor, Tim Lensmire moderated the event. Professors Nicola Alexander (OLPD), Michael Harwell (Ed Psych), and Cynthia Lewis (C&I) prepared and shared short answers to the question “what is/are data?” followed by responses from Professors Bic Ngo (C&I) and Michael Rodriguez (Ed Psych).
After the initial presentation and responses, the audience (which numbered well over 50 attendees) and the panel engaged in a lively question and answer period. The panel did a wonderful job of sharing evocative and thoughtful answers to the session’s guiding question and to the important questions asked by the audience.
C&I Pro-seminars are short, content-rich seminars that our faculty have developed to help graduate students navigate the sometimes murky ocean of academia (e.g. conference-going, dissertations, job searches, etc.). To see videos of our recent Pro-Seminar events, please visit our Current Ph.D. Students Resource page. To stay abreast of upcoming C&I events, please see the C&I events page.
PsTL Graduate Student Showcase
PsTL recently hosted a Graduate Student Showcase for incoming and first year MA students to hear presentations on Plan A Thesis and Plan B Capstone projects from alumni and soon-to-be graduates. The event was held to allow new students to see what the difference is between a Plan A and a Plan B and the diversity of what these projects can look like. The presentations allowed faculty, staff, and students in attendance to learn more about both the individual presenters and their topic of interest as well as the program as a whole. Presenters included Evetta Inman (University YMCA Guiding Document), Simone Gbolo (African American Student Experiences: A Networking Group in High School), Sara Schoen (Online Learning with Equity Pedagogy and Chickering and Gamson), Shade’ Osifuye (Sustainability, Access, and Retention for Students with Disabilities at the University of Nairobi), and Anise McDowell (Building Leadership: A Practical Application of the Social Change Model of Leadership in a Multicultural Context). The department is proud of these students and is confident that some of the “mystery” was taken out of completing a master’s program. Additionally new professional relationships and networks were formed. Thank you to all who participated and assisted in the success of this event.
UMN-TC graduate named MN Teacher of the Year
Thomas Rademacher, a graduate of the College of Education and Human Development, was named MN Teacher of the Year on Sunday, May 4. Rademacher teaches high school English at the FAIR School in downtown Minneapolis. Congratulation. Read full story.
Tedick gives plenary address at Brazilian Immersion Conference
Curriculum and Instruction, Associate Professor Diane Tedick gave a plenary presentation and participated in a plenary round table with other speakers at the Brazilian Immersion Conference, which was held May 1-2 in São Paulo, Brazil.
In the plenary, Tedick shared that research has illustrated that immersion programs that are well-designed and well-implemented are those that lead to the most positive student outcomes regarding language proficiency and academic achievement. Drawing on research-based recommendations developed in the U.S. and other countries, she focused on three key points, namely that immersion programs must:
- establish clear end goals and grade-level benchmarks for second language proficiency attainment,
- institute a program-wide assessment plan to measure students’ achievement of established proficiency goals, and
- plan for ongoing, immersion-specific professional development for teachers to learn and implement “high-yield” pedagogical practices that will ensure student success on program-level assessments.
The plenary round table engaged all conference speakers, including Drs. Roy Lyster (Canada), Myriam Met (U.S.), Else Hamayan (Argentina), and Tedick, in addressing current questions about the design and implementation of outstanding English immersion programs in Brazil.
To learn more about Tedick’s research, please see her faculty profile. To learn more about our Second Languages and Cultures Education programs, please visit the SLC program page.
“Grow your own” partnership for special education teachers
By working in close partnership with schools to co-create teacher education programs that meet Minnesota’s needs, CEHD faculty and staff develop new pathways to teaching. The Teacher Education Redesign Initiative (TERI) supports not only the redesign of our comprehensive programs, but also the development of new pathways to licensure such as this partnership with Independent School District 916 and CEHD’s Special Education faculty, Jennifer McComas. Read the full story.
CEHD alum Rademacher wins Minnesota Teacher of the Year
Curriculum and Instruction graduate Thomas Rademacher (M.Ed. ’07) has been named 2014 Minnesota Teacher of the Year. Rademacher teaches English at the Fine Arts Interdisciplinary Resources (FAIR) School in Minneapolis and Crystal. Education Minnesota, the 70,000 member teachers’ union, underwrites the award, which is open to all prekindergarten through 12th-grade teachers in Minnesota’s public, private, and parochial schools.
According to coverage by the Star Tribune, “[Rademacher] said his message as a teacher ambassador in the coming year will be cooperating with anyone interested in education to make it better. He said he learned from a staff shake-up in his West Metro program a few years ago. It created a division within fellow teachers that he tried to heal by inviting 10 teachers with differing opinions to his home for enchiladas.”
“Rademacher is known at FAIR for his unwavering commitment to students,” according to Education Minnesota. This year, 128 candidates were nominated by peers and students, among others. Winners receive a $6,000 prize, and go on to the national competition. Minnesota has produced four National Teachers of the Year, more than any other state, except California. The Minnesota Teacher of the Year program is the longest running recognition program in Minnesota to honor excellence in education.
“Mr. Rademacher will do anything in his power to help his students succeed,” said student Asyana Eddy in the Star Tribune story. “He gives us the freedom to approach his subjects in the most creative ways possible, he teaches us that our thoughts matter, and that we are capable of anything we want to do with our lives.”
Rademacher is the second teacher from one of CEHD’s teacher education programs to win Teacher of the Year in the last 5 years. In 2009, alumna Amber Damm won the honor for her work at the Clara Barton Open School in Minneapolis.
Visit the CEHD People section to read Amber Damm’s profile. Visit the Star Tribune’s website to read the full article on Rademacher’s award, “Minneapolis English teacher named Minnesota Teacher of the Year.” And, please visit Teach.umn.edu to learn more about earning your teaching license at the University of Minnesota.
Sousada Chidthachack in AAP Refugee Reflections
STEM Graduate Research Assistant Sousada Chidthachack is highlighted in this month’s Asian American Press segment called Refugee Reflections. To read about Sousada’s experience, visit https://aapress.com/community/refugee-reflections-sousada-chidthachack/
Co-teaching fidelity study underway in TERI
We are in the third year of providing co-teaching training and support to cooperating teacher and teacher candidate pairs. The training and practices have been well received and all our partner districts have adopted co-teaching as their preferred model for student teaching experiences.
Most partner schools and districts are now providing the co-teaching training with their own staff as well as using the online co-teaching training. As the partnership grows and more people own co-teaching professional development in the network, CEHD staff are able to focus on collecting data to improve this research-based, high impact model.
To assess what we’ve accomplished – and to determine what is still needed – we conducted a co-teaching fidelity study. University supervisors met with their candidates and cooperating teachers to learn if the pair is co-teaching and what instructional strategies are most common in the team’s practice. We asked what training the pair has completed and what training they still need. We probed general satisfaction with the process and asked for specific benefits of co-teaching for the K-12 students in their classrooms.
This spring we will compile the data collected to create a complete picture of co-teaching in our partner schools and other student teaching sites. These data will help us understand where co-teaching is successful and where it is not yet being used. As a result we will offer new, targeted training to our school partners and support to extend co-teaching in the next academic year.
Stay tuned for more details later this summer!
Submitted by:
Bob Utke, Clinical Learning Coordinator
Amy Jo Lundell, Clinical Partnerships Coordinator
Stacy Ernst, School Partner Network Coordinator & Interim TERI Director
Israelson awarded Robert Schreiner Reading Fellowship
C&I Ph.D. candidate Madeleine Israelson (Literacy Education) has had a busy spring. Earlier this year, she was awarded a Robert Schreiner Reading Fellowship to support her dissertation research in reading education. Awardees are selected based on the importance of the research, the clarity with which it is described, and the potential the work has for making a significant contribution to the field. Madeleine’s dissertation research has already been cited in an Education Week article examining the effects of e-books on building reading comprehension skills. In addition to this work, Madeleine is working on a blog to help teachers select appropriate apps for the classroom.
We recently interviewed Madeleine to learn a little bit more about her experiences and what she’s enjoying about her research.
What is most exciting about your work/research/studies?
My dissertation research explores how kindergarten-3rd grade teachers are using tablets and apps in early literacy instruction. I’m really excited about this work! Since these tools for learning are so new, there is so much potential to use tablets and apps in innovative and transformative ways. More and more, we are seeing tablets in early elementary classrooms. However, there are an overwhelming number of apps that purport to teach literacy, and the process of finding quality apps can be challenging and time consuming for teachers. My hope is that my research will help early elementary teachers who are seeking to do innovative and exciting things with learning technologies in their literacy instruction.
How did your path lead to the University of Minnesota and to C&I in particular?
I earned my initial elementary teaching license through C&I. While I was working as a teacher I enrolled in the reading specialist program at UMN. Those 5 courses were really life-changing for me. I was able to learn from eminent scholars and take research-based instructional practices back to my classroom. This course of study let me be a much more effective teacher for my students; they learned and enjoyed reading and writing much more because I was improving my instruction. As I saw first hand the exciting potential to improve educational experiences for students through scholarly research, I was inspired to pursue my doctorate.
What has surprised you along the way?
Probably how fast graduate school went… I remember watching a colleague defend her dissertation the week I started my program. I thought, “Well, that won’t be me for a long time,” and here I am, getting ready for my dissertation defense!
What have you most enjoyed about your experience in your program?
I’ve been really fortunate to be part of several research and instructional teams during my time in the program. These opportunities to collaborate with faculty members and graduate students on both research projects and curriculum development have been invaluable to me. I learn so much from everyone I’ve had the privilege to work with over the past four years.
What’s most challenging?
For me, it was overcoming self-doubt. There have been times over the last four years when I thought, “Oh, I probably can’t get a paper accepted to that conference,” or “Oh, I don’t know if I can present on that topic.” But luckily I’ve had incredible mentors and amazing friends. Their encouragement and support has helped me do things I thought I couldn’t do. So I’d encourage prospective or new graduate students to go for it and try things that are new, scary or daunting. I’ve found graduate school is a great time to take risks, experience failures, grow and learn, then take some more risks and celebrate successes!
Any memorable forks in the road, or surprising turns?
My daughter was born when I was writing my preliminary exams! My committee was incredibly understanding and supportive. I was able to take time to stay home with my little girl after she was born and still stay on track to finish my program as planned.
Do you have hobbies or activities that you do outside of work?
I spend as much time with my husband and our daughter as I possibly can! We take swim classes, draw and paint, and read lots of books together. We also like to travel and go to parks, playgrounds and zoos.
Do you have a motto or a set of words to live by?
I’ve been really inspired by this quote from John Dewey since I first read it in one of my classes:
“If we teach today as we taught yesterday, we rob our children of tomorrow.”
– John Dewey
In fact, this quote prompted me to think and ask questions that led to the conception of my dissertation study.
To read “Researchers Voice Concern Over E-Books’ Effect on Reading Comprehension,” the article that cites Madeleine’s research, please visit Education Week’s website. Visit the Literacy Program Area webpage to learn more about our academic programs in Literacy.
Pioneer Press taps King for expertise in English Language Learning
This weekend, the Pioneer Press published an article on English Language Learners (ELL) entering mainstream classrooms to tackle learning English while simultaneously learning other subject matter. The article, “St. Paul English learners sent into mainstream, ready or not,” touches on some of the hopes and concerns for the shift from first developing fluency and then catching up on subject matter to a more integrated approach.
ELL students are co-taught by the classroom teacher and an educator with special skills and training to support English language acquisition. The St. Paul School District was an early adopter of the co-teaching model to integrate subject learning and English learning in elementary schools. The goal of this is strategy is to prevent ELLs from falling behind in other subjects while they are learning English.
C&I Professor in Second Languages and Cultures Education, Kendall King is quoted in the article for suggesting, “While this model has a lot of potential, it will not work for all English learners.” King recommends that districts begin with small scale pilots, and involve guidance counselors, among others to evaluate who might be successful in these classes.
Read the full Pioneer Press story here. To learn more about Kendall King’s research, please visit her profile page, and to learn more about SLC academic programs, please visit the SLC program area page.
CEHD student featured in Education Minnesota video
University of Minnesota CEHD alum Lindsey Bryant, a first-year teacher at Jenny Lind Elementary in Minneapolis, is featured in a video on the Education Minnesota “Ed Moments” website. Lindsey was one of our 2012-13 teacher candidates placed in a yearlong co-teaching placement last year at Highlands in Edina- one of our partner school sites in TERI.
Jenny Lind Elementary was chosen for the project because of its work to narrow the achievement gap and Lindsey is featured in the first and third video. See how this first year teacher from CEHD’s redesigned elementary education program is helping to do her part with her colleagues at a great school! Watch video.
TERI Annual Milestone Visit with the Bush Foundation
Each spring CEHD welcomes representatives from the Bush Foundation and our project coach, Ivan Charner, from FHI 360 to a full review and update of TERI progress and partnerships. The visit provides CEHD and school partners leaders with an opportunity to engage directly with the foundation’s leadership team in generative conversations specific to the work in TERI in the larger NExT initiative.
School representatives from our six partner districts contributed to the day by sharing evidence of impact on students, teachers, schools, and districts. School district partners provided updates organized around the pillars in NExT: Recruit, Prepare, Support, Employ. Each district provided overviews on the partnership’s impact. Here are a few samples of the information shared: SPPS, MPS, Roosevelt High School (MPS), and Forest Lake Area Schools.
Michael Bradley, RHS principal in MPS catches up with Michael Lovett, White Bear Lake Area School’s superintendent.
Roehrig wins CEHD Marty and Jack Rossman Award
The STEM Education Center would like to congratulate Dr. Gillian Roehrig, Associate Director of Research on Teacher Development in the STEM Education Center and Associate Professor of Science Education in the School of Curriculum and Instruction, for receiving the Marty and Jack Rossman Award presented at the CEHD Spring Assembly. This prestigious award recognizes a tenured faculty member who has “demonstrated a truly exceptional level of creativity and productivity in scholarship, teaching and service, and who shows great promise of continuing such achievement.” Dr. Roehrig will receive an $8,000 award over two years to support research, travel, or professional development.